Neo-Riemannian theory

Neo-Riemannian theory is a loose collection of ideas present in the writings of music theorists such as
David Lewin, Brian Hyer, Richard Cohn, and Henry Klumpenhouwer. What binds these ideas is a central
commitment to relating harmonies directly to each other, without necessary reference to a tonic. Initially,
those harmonies were major and minor triads; subsequently, neo-Riemannian theory was extended to
standard dissonant sonorities as well. Harmonic proximity is characteristically gauged by efficiency of voice
leading. Thus, C major and E minor triads are close by virtue of requiring only a single semitonal shift to
move from one to the other. Motion between proximate harmonies is described by simple transformations.
For example, motion between a C major and E minor triad, in either direction, is executed by an "L"
transformation. Extended progressions of harmonies are characteristically displayed on a geometric plane, or
map, which portrays the entire system of harmonic relations. Where consensus is lacking is on the question
of what is most central to the theory: smooth voice leading, transformations, or the system of relations that is
mapped by the geometries. The theory is often invoked when analyzing harmonic practices within the Late
Romantic period characterized by a high degree of chromaticism, including work of Schubert, Liszt, Wagner
and Bruckner.[1]

Neo-Riemannian theory is named after Hugo

Riemann (1849–1919), whose "dualist" system
for relating triads was adapted from earlier 19th-
century harmonic theorists. (The term "dualism"
– also known as the theory of negative harmony
– refers to the emphasis on the inversional
relationship between major and minor, with
minor triads being considered "upside down"
versions of major triads; this "dualism" is what
produces the change-in-direction described
above. See also: Utonality) In the 1880s, Illustration of Riemann's 'dualist' system: minor as upside
Riemann proposed a system of transformations down major.
that related triads directly to each other [2] The
revival of this aspect of Riemann's writings,
independently of the dualist premises under which they were initially conceived, originated with David
Lewin (1933–2003), particularly in his article "Amfortas's Prayer to Titurel and the Role of D in Parsifal"
(1984) and his influential book, Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations (1987). Subsequent
development in the 1990s and 2000s has expanded the scope of neo-Riemannian theory considerably, with
further mathematical systematization to its basic tenets, as well as inroads into 20th century repertoires and
music psychology.[1]

Contents
Triadic transformations and voice leading
Graphical representations
Criticism
Extensions
See also
References
External links
Further reading

Triadic transformations and voice leading

The principal transformations of neo-Riemannian triadic theory connect triads of different species (major
and minor), and are their own inverses (a second application undoes the first). These transformations are
purely harmonic, and do not need any particular voice leading between chords: all instances of motion from
a C major to a C minor triad represent the same neo-Riemannian transformation, no matter how the voices
are distributed in register.

The three transformations move one of the three notes of the triad to produce a different triad:

The P transformation exchanges a triad for its Parallel. In a Major Triad move the third down a
semitone (C major to C minor), in a Minor Triad move the third up a semitone (C minor to C
major)
The R transformation exchanges a triad for its Relative. In a Major Triad move the fifth up a
tone (C major to A minor), in a Minor Triad move the root down a tone (A minor to C major)
The L transformation exchanges a triad for its Leading-Tone Exchange. In a Major Triad the
root moves down by a semitone (C major to E minor), in a Minor Triad the fifth moves up by a
semitone (E minor to C major)

Observe that P preserves the perfect fifth interval (so given say C and G there are only two candidates for
the third note: E and E♭), L preserves the minor third interval (given E and G our candidates are C and B)
and R preserves the major third interval (given C and E our candidates are G and A).

Secondary operations can be constructed by combining these basic operations:

The N (or Nebenverwandt) relation exchanges a major triad for its minor subdominant, and a
minor triad for its major dominant (C major and F minor). The "N" transformation can be
obtained by applying R, L, and P successively.[3]
The S (or Slide) relation exchanges two triads that share a third (C major and C♯ minor); it can
be obtained by applying L, P, and R successively in that order.[4]
The H relation (LPL) exchanges a triad for its hexatonic pole (C major and A♭ minor)[5]

Any combination of the L, P, and R transformations will act inversely on major and minor triads: for
instance, R-then-P transposes C major down a minor third, to A major via A minor, whilst transposing C
minor to E♭ minor up a minor 3rd via E♭ major.

Initial work in neo-Riemannian theory treated these transformations in a largely harmonic manner, without
explicit attention to voice leading. Later, Cohn pointed out that neo-Riemannian concepts arise naturally
when thinking about certain problems in voice leading.[6][7] For example, two triads (major or minor) share
two common tones and can be connected by stepwise voice leading the third voice if and only if they are
linked by one of the L, P, R transformations described above.[6] (This property of stepwise voice leading in a
single voice is called voice-leading parsimony.) Note that here the emphasis on inversional relationships
arises naturally, as a byproduct of interest in "parsimonious" voice leading, rather than being a fundamental
theoretical postulate, as it was in Riemann's work.

More recently, Dmitri Tymoczko has argued that the connection between neo-Riemannian operations and
voice leading is only approximate (see below).[8] Furthermore, the formalism of neo-Riemannian theory
treats voice leading in a somewhat oblique manner: "neo-Riemannian transformations," as defined above,
are purely harmonic relationships that do not necessarily involve any particular mapping between the chords'
notes.[7]

Graphical representations
Neo-Riemannian
transformations can be
modeled with several
interrelated geometric
structures. The
Riemannian Tonnetz
("tonal grid," shown on
the right) is a planar
array of pitches along
three simplicial axes,
corresponding to the
three consonant
intervals. Major and
minor triads are
represented by triangles Pitches in the Tonnetz are connected by lines if they are separated by minor third,
which tile the plane of major third, or perfect fifth. Interpreted as a torus the Tonnetz has 12 nodes (pitches)
and 24 triangles (triads).
the Tonnetz. Edge-
adjacent triads share two
common pitches, and so
the principal transformations are expressed as minimal motion of the Tonnetz. Unlike the historical theorist
for which it is named, neo-Riemannian theory typically assumes enharmonic equivalence (G♯ = A♭), which
wraps the planar graph into a torus.

Alternate tonal geometries have been described in neo-Riemannian

theory that isolate or expand upon certain features of the classical
Tonnetz. Richard Cohn developed the Hyper Hexatonic system to
describe motion within and between separate major third cycles, all
of which exhibit what he formulates as "maximal smoothness."
(Cohn, 1996).[6] Another geometric figure, Cube Dance, was
invented by Jack Douthett; it features the geometric dual of the
Tonnetz, where triads are vertices instead of triangles (Douthett and One toroidal view of the neo-
Steinbach, 1998) and are interspersed with augmented triads, Riemannian Tonnetz.
allowing smoother voice-leadings.

Many of the geometrical representations associated with neo-Riemannian theory are unified into a more
general framework by the continuous voice-leading spaces explored by Clifton Callender, Ian Quinn, and
Dmitri Tymoczko. This work originates in 2004, when Callender described a continuous space in which
points represented three-note "chord types" (such as "major triad"), using the space to model "continuous
transformations" in which voices slid continuously from one note to another.[9] Later, Tymoczko showed
that paths in Callender's space were isomorphic to certain classes of voice leadings (the "individually T
related" voice leadings discussed in Tymoczko 2008) and developed a family of spaces more closely
analogous to those of neo-Riemannian theory. In Tymoczko's spaces, points represent particular chords of
any size (such as "C major") rather than more general chord types (such as "major triad").[7][10] Finally,
Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko together proposed a unified framework connecting these and many other
geometrical spaces representing diverse range of music-theoretical properties.[11]
The Harmonic table note layout is a modern day realisation of this graphical representation to create a
musical interface.

In 2011, Gilles Baroin presented the Planet-4D model,[12] a new

vizualisation system based on graph theory that embeds the
traditional Tonnetz on a 4D Hypersphere. Another recent continuous
version of the Tonnetz — simultaneously in original and dual form
— is the Torus of phases (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.100
7%2F978-3-642-39357-0_1#page-1)[13] which enables even finer
analyses, for instance in early romantic music.[14]
Planet-4D model embeds the

Criticism traditional Tonnetz onto the surface

of a Hypersphere

Neo-Riemannian theorists often analyze chord progressions as

combinations of the three basic LPR transformations, the only ones that preserve two common tones. Thus
the progression from C major to E major might be analyzed as L-then-P, which is a 2-unit motion since it
involves two transformations. (This same transformation sends C minor to A♭ minor, since L of C minor is
A♭ major, while P of A♭ major is A♭ minor.) These distances reflect voice-leading only imperfectly.[8] For
example, according to strains of neo-Riemannian theory that prioritize common-tone preservation, the C
major triad is closer to F major than to F minor, since C major can be transformed into F major by R-then-L,
while it takes three moves to get from C major to F minor (R-then-L-then-P). However, from a chromatic
voice-leading perspective F minor is closer to C major than F major is, since it takes just two semitones of
motion to transform F minor into C major (A♭->G and F->E) whereas it takes three semitones to transform
F major into C major. Thus LPR transformations are unable to account for the voice-leading efficiency of
the IV-iv-I progression, one of the basic routines of nineteenth-century harmony.[8] Note that similar points
can be made about common tones: on the Tonnetz, F minor and E♭ minor are both three steps from C major,
even though F minor and C major have one common tone, while E♭ minor and C major have none.

Underlying these discrepancies are different ideas about whether harmonic proximity is maximized when
two common tones are shared, or when the total voice-leading distance is minimized. For example, in the R
transformation, a single voice moves by whole step; in the N or S transformation, two voices move by
semitone. When common-tone maximization is prioritized, R is more efficient; when voice-leading
efficiency is measured by summing the motions of the individual voices, the transformations are
equivalently efficient. Early neo-Riemannian theory conflated these two conceptions. More recent work has
disentangled them, and measures distance unilaterally by voice-leading proximity independently of
common-tone preservation. Accordingly, the distinction between "primary" and "secondary" transformations
becomes problematized. As early as 1992, Jack Douthett created an exact geometric model of inter-triadic
voice-leading by interpolating augmented triads between R-related triads, which he called "Cube Dance".[15]
Though Douthett's figure was published in 1998, its superiority as a model of voice leading was not fully
appreciated until much later, in the wake of the geometrical work of Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko;
indeed, the first detailed comparison of "Cube Dance" to the neo-Riemannian "Tonnetz" appeared in 2009,
more than fifteen years after Douthett's initial discovery of his figure.[8] In this line of research, the triadic
transformations lose the foundational status that they held in the early phases of neo-Riemannian theory. The
geometries to which voice-leading proximity give rise attain central status, and the transformations become
heuristic labels for certain kinds of standard routines, rather than their defining property.

Nonetheless, among all possible sets of the twenty-four Riemannian triadic transformations, the length of
combinations of members from the set of L, P, and R transformations better correlates with chromatic voice-
leading distance than nearly every other set of transformations. For example, if only L and R
transformations were used to measure transformational distance between triads, the number of
contradictions between transformational distance and voice-leading distance like those examples above is
much greater than when using L, P, and R. This partially restores some distinction between "primary" and
"secondary" transformations.[16]

Extensions
Beyond its application to triadic chord progressions, neo-Riemannian theory has inspired numerous
subsequent investigations. These include

Voice-leading proximity among chords with more than three tones- among species of
hexachords, such as the Mystic chord (Callender, 1998)[17]
Common-tone proximity among dissonant trichords [18]
Progressions among triads within diatonic rather than chromatic space.
Transformations among scales of various sizes and species (in the work of Dmitri
Tymoczko).[19]
Transformations among all possible triads, not necessarily strict mode-shifting involutions
(Hook, 2002).[20]
Transformations between chords of differing cardinality, called cross-type transformations
(Hook, 2007).[21]
Applicability to pop music.[22]
Applicability to film music.[23][24][25]

Some of these extensions share neo-Riemannian theory's concern with non-traditional relations among
familiar tonal chords; others apply voice-leading proximity or harmonic transformation to characteristically
atonal chords.

See also
Diatonic function
Musical set theory
Riemannian theory
Transformational theory

References
1. Cohn, Richard (Autumn 1998). "An Introduction to Neo-Riemannian Theory: A Survey and
Historical Perspective". Journal of Music Theory. 42 (2): 167–180. doi:10.2307/843871 (https://
doi.org/10.2307%2F843871). JSTOR 843871 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/843871).
2. Klumpenhouwer, Henry (1994). "Some Remarks on the Use of Riemann Transformations" (htt
p://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.94.0.9/mto.94.0.9.klumpenhouwer.art). Music Theory Online. 0
(9). ISSN 1067-3040 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1067-3040).
3. Cohn, Richard (Spring 2000). "Weitzmann's Regions, My Cycles, and Douthett's Dancing
Cubes". Music Theory Spectrum. 22 (1): 89–103. doi:10.1525/mts.2000.22.1.02a00040 (http
s://doi.org/10.1525%2Fmts.2000.22.1.02a00040). JSTOR 745854 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/
745854) – via ResearchGate.
4. Lewin, David (1987). Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press. p. 178. ISBN 9780199759941.
 5. Cohn, Richard (Summer 2004). "Uncanny Resemblances: Tonal Signification in the Freudian
Age". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 57 (2): 285–323.
doi:10.1525/jams.2004.57.2.285 (https://doi.org/10.1525%2Fjams.2004.57.2.285).
JSTOR 10.1525/jams.2004.57.2.285 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jams.2004.57.2.28
5).
6. Cohn, Richard (March 1996). "Maximally Smooth Cycles, Hexatonic Systems, and the
Analysis of Late-Romantic Triadic Progressions". Music Analysis. 15 (1): 9–40.
doi:10.2307/854168 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F854168). JSTOR 854168 (https://www.jstor.or
g/stable/854168).
7. Tymoczko, Dmitri (27 November 2008). "Scale Theory, Serial Theory, and Voice Leading" (http
s://dmitri.mycpanel.princeton.edu/files/publications/scalesarrays.pdf) (PDF). Music Analysis. 27
(1): 1–49. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2249.2008.00257.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1468-2249.200
8.00257.x).
8. Tymoczko, Dmitri (2009). "Three Conceptions of Musical Distance" (http://dmitri.mycpanel.prin
ceton.edu/files/publications/distance.pdf) (PDF). In Chew, Elaine; Childs, Adrian; Chuan,
Ching-Hua (eds.). Mathematics and Computation in Music. Communications in Computer and
Information Science. 38. Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 258–273. ISBN 978-3-642-02394-1.
9. Callender, Clifton (2004). "Continuous Transformations". Music Theory Online. 10 (3).
10. Tymoczko, Dmitri (2006). "The Geometry of Musical Chords" (https://web.archive.org/web/201
60307073427/http://dmitri.mycpanel.princeton.edu/voiceleading.pdf) (PDF). Science. 313
(5783): 72–74. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.215.7449 (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi
=10.1.1.215.7449). doi:10.1126/science.1126287 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.112628
7). PMID 16825563 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16825563). Archived from the original (ht
tp://dmitri.mycpanel.princeton.edu/voiceleading.pdf) (PDF) on 2016-03-07.
11. Callender, Clifton; Quinn, Ian; Tymoczko, Dmitri (18 Apr 2008). "Generalized Voice Leading
Spaces". Science. 320 (5874): 346–348. doi:10.1126/science.1153021 (https://doi.org/10.112
6%2Fscience.1153021). PMID 18420928 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18420928).
12. Baroin, Gilles (2011). "The planet-4D model: An original hypersymmetric music space based
on graph theory". In Agon, C.; Andreatta, M.; Assayag, G.; Amiot, E.; Bresson, J.; Mandereau,
J. (eds.). Mathematics and Computation in Music. MCM 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer
Science. 6726. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 326–329. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-21590-2_25
(https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-642-21590-2_25). ISBN 9783642215896.
13. Amiot, Emmanuel (2013). "The Torii of phases". In Yust, J.; Wild, J.; Burgoyne, J.A. (eds.).
Mathematics and Computation in Music. MCM 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science.
7937. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 1–18. arXiv:1208.4774 (https://arxiv.o
rg/abs/1208.4774). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39357-0_1 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-642-3
9357-0_1). ISBN 9783642393563.
14. Yust, Jason (May 2015). "Schubert's Harmonic Language and Fourier Phase Space" (http://pe
ople.bu.edu/jyust/revFinal_SchubertDFT.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Music Theory. 59 (1): 121–181.
doi:10.1215/00222909-2863409 (https://doi.org/10.1215%2F00222909-2863409).
hdl:2144/39141 (https://hdl.handle.net/2144%2F39141).
15. Douthett, Jack; Steinbach, Peter (1998). "Parsimonious Graphs: A Study in Parsimony,
Contextual Transformation, and Modes of Limited Transposition" (https://edisciplinas.usp.br/m
od/resource/view.php?id=2314278). Journal of Music Theory. 42 (2): 241–263.
doi:10.2307/843877 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F843877). JSTOR 843877 (https://www.jstor.or
g/stable/843877).
16. Murphy, S. (1 April 2014). "Audacious Euphony: Chromaticism and the Triad's Second Nature".
Journal of Music Theory. 58 (1): 79–101. doi:10.1215/00222909-2413598 (https://doi.org/10.12
15%2F00222909-2413598). ISSN 0022-2909 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0022-2909).
17. Callender, Clifton, "Voice-Leading Parsimony in the Music of Alexander Scriabin", Journal of
Music Theory 42/2 (1998), 219–233
18. Siciliano, Michael, "Toggling Cycles, Hexatonic Systems, and Some Analysis of Early Atonal
Music", Music Theory Specturm 27/2 (2005), 221–247
19. Tymoczko, Dmitri. "Scale Networks and Debussy," Journal of Music Theory 48/2 (2004): : 215–
92.
20. Hook, Julian, "Uniform Triadic Transformations", Journal of Music Theory 46/1–2 (2002), 57–
126
21. Hook, Julian, "Cross-Type Transformations and the Path Consistency Condition", Music
Theory Spectrum (2007)
22. Capuzzo, Guy, "Neo-Riemannian Theory and the Analysis of Pop-Rock Music", Music Theory
Spectrum 26/2 2004), Pages 177–200
23. Murphy, Scott, "The Major Tritone Progression in Recent Hollywood Science Fiction Films,"
Music Theory Online 12/2 (2006)
24. Lehman, Frank, "Transformational Analysis and the Representation of Genius in Film Music,"
Music Theory Spectrum, 35/1 (2013), 1–22
25. Murphy, Scott, "Transformational Theory and the Analysis of Film Music," in The Oxford
Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. David Neumeyer, 471–499. Oxford and New York:
Oxford University Press, 2014.

External links
TouchTonnetz – an interactive mobile app to explore Neo-Riemannian Theory – Android (https://play.googl
e.com/store/apps/details?id=com.strategiccode.touch_tonnetz) or iPhone (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/to
uch-tonnetz/id1176422445?mt=8)

Further reading
Lewin, David. "Amfortas's Prayer to Titurel and the Role of D in 'Parsifal': The Tonal Spaces of
the Drama and the Enharmonic Cb/B," 19th Century Music 7/3 (1984), 336–349.
Lewin, David. Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations (Yale University Press: New
Haven, CT, 1987). ISBN 978-0-300-03493-6.
Cohn, Richard. 'An Introduction to Neo-Riemannian Theory: A Survey and Historical
Perspective", Journal of Music Theory, 42/2 (1998), 167–180.
Lerdahl, Fred. Tonal Pitch Space (Oxford University Press: New York, 2001). ISBN 978-0-19-
505834-5.
Hook, Julian. Uniform Triadic Transformations (Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 2002).
Kopp, David. Chromatic Transformations in Nineteenth-century Music (Cambridge University
Press, 2002). ISBN 978-0-521-80463-9.
Hyer, Brian. "Reimag(in)ing Riemann", Journal of Music Theory, 39/1 (1995), 101–138.
Mooney, Michael Kevin. The 'Table of Relations' and Music Psychology in Hugo Riemann's
Chromatic Theory (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1996).
Cohn, Richard. "Neo-Riemannian Operations, Parsimonious Trichords, and their Tonnetz
Representations", Journal of Music Theory, 41/1 (1997), 1–66.
Cohn, Richard. Audacious Euphony: Chromaticism and the Triad's Second Nature (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2012). ISBN 978-0-19-977269-8.
Gollin, Edward and Alexander Rehding, Oxford Handbook of Neo-Riemannian Music Theories
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). ISBN 978-0-19-532133-3.

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