Chapter 1

“Reharm” of Music from 7:15 - 7:51 PM on Wed Sep 18, 2024 in B’more. Let’s break it down into three distinct sections, keeping the roles clear and separate. Here’s a more focused take:

Abstract

1. Strategy: human vs natural

2. Payoff: temperament 🎹 vs static 🔉 🌟 🌌

3. Nash: modes.chords.nextoken -Arcs

   • Emotional

   • Tragic

   • Narrative/Harmonic

1. Strategies: Human vs. Cosmic Static – Signal as Music

In the vastness of the cosmic void, there’s static—the noise, the chaotic hum of existence—but within that, we find music, the signal that cuts through the chaos. Music is unnatural in that it defies this background noise, organizing the universe’s raw material into something structured, meaningful, and intentional. Humanity’s rebellion against nature is evident in every note, chord, and rhythm. The strategy here is not just playing within the system, but fighting against the randomness of the void to create something that makes sense—a signal amidst the static.

This strategy isn’t about dynamic vs. static in the conventional sense but rather about finding order in cosmic static. Music is where this battle plays out: melody arises from noise, rhythm from chaos, and harmony from dissonance. The human artist, much like a magician, distills clarity from the cosmic void, producing signal that resonates in a way the natural world never could on its own.

This is why music mirrors existentialism: life is a question, a blank slate, a void filled with uncertainty. Yet music offers answers, even if only temporary, incomplete ones. It’s not about embracing nihilism but about finding meaning in the unknowable—just as music implies the next token even when it’s not obvious. This invites the listener to engage and participate in the unfolding narrative of sound. Just like Cleopatra’s charm, music seduces with its unpredictability, keeping the audience in a state of eternal guessing.

2. Payoffs: Temperament vs. Static – Unnatural Order as Emotional and Harmonic Engagement

The payoff is clear: music as signal transforms the cosmic static into something coherent. Through temperament—fixed scales, modes, and harmonic structures—music creates a foundation from which the human mind can launch itself into emotional and cognitive engagement.

Temperament imposes an unnatural order on the inherent chaos of sound. Temperament gives us the framework—modes, scales, and progressions—but it’s the human mind that fills in the blanks, making sense of what’s missing. In the blues’ 12-bar structure, the professional ear knows exactly where the next token will land. Each chord, each progression aligns with a centuries-old template that gives structure to what would otherwise be pure static.

Yet, it’s in the gaps where real meaning lies. These gaps—whether harmonic suspensions, unresolved progressions, or moments of silence—are where the human brain does its work, imputing what’s missing. The infinite variety of music, like Shakespeare’s Cleopatra, is in its unpredictability within predictable frameworks. Even within a strict form like the 12-bar blues, there’s an invitation to listen closely, to anticipate the next turn, and to experience the satisfaction of being right or the surprise of being wrong.

This tension between cosmic static and musical signal is where music derives its emotional power. Like Cleopatra’s charm, music’s allure comes from its ability to both satisfy and leave the listener hungry for more. It offers just enough resolution to be meaningful but leaves enough unanswered to keep us coming back.

3. Nash: Modes, Scales, and the Nextoken Arc – Navigating the Signal Amidst Chaos

In music, the Nash equilibrium emerges from the balance between predictability and surprise. Modes, scales, and harmonic progressions provide the structure, but it’s the nextoken—the next note, chord, or rhythm—that can either align with or disrupt these expectations. The aristocratic listener, well-versed in genre and form, can place their bets on where the next token will fall, much like predicting moves in a chess game.

In blues, for instance, the predictability of the 12-bar form gives a sense of certainty, but the emotional delivery and minor deviations in timing or chord voicings add just enough variance to keep it engaging. The professional ear hears the next token coming, but the emotional resonance comes from how that token is realized, whether through a slight delay, a harmonic variation, or a subtle change in dynamics.

For the amateur, who lacks this deep knowledge of modes and scales, the experience is raw, and the music’s power lies in its unpredictability. They are a “perfect raw specimen of nature,” guided not by knowledge but by instinct and visceral reaction. In this sense, the next token is a thrilling discovery, aligning with the idea that music invites us into a game of eternal guessing—one that we’re constantly trying to win.

The arc of this game follows an emotional, tragic, and narrative path. Just as in storytelling, where unresolved plotlines or character motivations invite engagement, music’s harmonic and rhythmic structures invite us to complete the picture. Modes and chords give us the language, but it’s the human mind’s ability to infer, extrapolate, and project that makes the listening experience so rich.

The Infinite Variety Within a Constrained Temperament

Shakespeare’s Cleopatra represents the infinite variety that music also possesses. Equal temperament, though constrained, is a framework that holds an endless number of possibilities. Just as Cleopatra’s charm remains ever-fresh and unpredictable, music too can surprise even within the tightest constraints of form. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier showcases how an infinite number of expressive possibilities can exist within the rigid structure of equal temperament.

Each mode and scale—from Phrygian to Mixolydian—provides a different emotional landscape, yet all follow the same mathematical structure. It’s in the human touch, the interpretation, where the infinite variety emerges. The professional listener, skilled in understanding these modes and harmonic rules, can accurately predict the next token within this structure. But even they are not immune to the magic of how each iteration of that token is executed—the emotional weight it carries, the nuances in rhythm or dynamics.

This is the charm of music, the reason it keeps us guessing. It’s not the notes themselves that captivate us, but the spaces between them, the implied nextoken that pulls us forward, much like life itself—one big question mark, yet utterly engaging. Music is the human mind’s way of imposing signal on the cosmic noise, and within that signal lies the infinite variety that keeps us eternally captivated, always listening for what comes next.