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JOHN COLTRANE’S TONE CIRCLE
January 22, 2016
My music is the spiritual expression of what I am: my faith, my knowledge, my being.
– John Coltrane
FOREWORD
I do like to mention that I am no “authority” or “expert” when it comes to Coltrane’s work, or the music theory behind it and the compositions themselves. And as sax player, well, I’m still miles away from even standing in the giant shadow he cast … not to mention his giant footsteps. Anyway, as admirer of Coltrane’s work I could not resist to write this article. I wrote this article because I am fascinated by his music and have an interest in the relationship between music and math / geometry.
For an expert opinion on Coltrane you should listen to what musicians who played with him or extensively studied his work have/had to say about it.
This blog article is an addition to the article “Music and Geometry” and contains only the information about the Coltrane Tone Circle and the relationship between some of his music and geometry. Do read the mentioned article for general information about the relationship between music and geometry.
Thelonious Monk once said “All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians“. Musicians like John Coltrane though have been very much aware of the mathematics of music and consciously applied it to their works. The “Coltrane Circle” is (to me) proof of it in Coltrane’s case …
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