19 The Method 3 Computer Algorithm PDF

The Method 3 Computer Algorithm
By James Hober
To produce my computer solutions for Method 3, I had to come up with an algorithm. I had to
compute the adjacent interval content of every V-System chord. (The outer voice interval is
simply the sum of the three adjacent voice intervals.) I spent a lot of time using pencil and
paper, figuring and experimenting, searching for patterns. Finally I arrived at an aha!
moment. Here is how the algorithm works:
We begin with one of the 43 four-note chord qualities and one of the 14 voicing groups. From
that we will generate the adjacent interval content of four systematic inversions. That's the
basic input and output. If we know how to do this correctly for one quality and one voicing
group, we can apply the procedure to all of them.
The computer likes information in numerical form. So we express chord quality by the
number of half steps between chord tones. We reference the voicing group in terms of its
Method 2 chord tone gaps.
Let's say we want to find the interval content of the four systematic inversions of a V-4 maj7
chord. The maj7 quality, expressed in half steps, is: 1 - 4 - 3 - 4. The chord tone gaps for V-4
are: 2 1 0. These are our inputs.
When a chord tone gap is zero, we can fill it with one of the four intervals from the quality:
1 - 4 - 3 - 4. That is, we can fill it with a m2 (1 half step), a M3 (4 half steps), a m3 (3 half steps),
or again a M3 (4 half steps).
When a chord tone gap is one, we can fill it with one of four “double sums.” To calculate what
I call “double sums,” you take the quality, 1 - 4 - 3 - 4, sum each number to the right, and put
the answer in the position from which you started summing. For maj7, the double sums are:
5 - 7 - 7 - 5. That is, (1 + 4) and (4 + 3) and (3 + 4) and (4 + 1). In other words, you begin with
the quality a b c d where a, b, c, and d represent the number of half steps in the quality. Then
the double sums are: (a + b) (b + c) (c + d) (d + a).
When a chord tone gap is two, we can fill it with one of the four triple sums, (a + b + c) (b + c +
d) (c + d + a) (d + a + b). The triple sums for a maj7 chord are 8 - 11 - 8 - 9. Here's a table:
Chord
Tone maj7
Gap Interval Fill Formula Values
0 single sums a b c d (from the quality) 1 4 3 4

1 double sums (a + b) (b + c) (c + d) (d + a) 5 7 7 5
2 triple sums (a + b + c) (b + c + d) (c + d + a) (d + a + b) 8 11 8 9
3 (can't happen)
4 single sums + 12 (a + 12) (b + 12) (c + 12) (d + 12) 13 16 15 16
5 double sums + 12 (a + b + 12) (b + c + 12) (c + d + 12) (d + a + 12) 17 19 19 17
The Method 3 Computer Algorithm page 2
The first part of the algorithm is calculating these sums. In our case, the low chord tone gap is
2 so we'll use triple sums for it. The mid chord tone gap is 1 so we'll use double sums. And
the high chord tone gap is 0 so we'll use single sums, a.k.a. the half steps of the quality. Here's
what we have:
high 1 4 3 4
mid 5 7 7 5
low 8 11 8 9
We almost have our interval content! The problem is alignment. We have to rotate the mid
and high intervals to get proper alignment with the low intervals. The formulas I discovered
for proper alignment are:
1. Rotate the mid row to the left by (1 + the low chord tone gap). (The 1 here is to account
for the tenor chord tone.)
2. Rotate the high row to the left by (2 + the low chord tone gap + the mid chord tone
gap). (The 2 here is to account for the tenor and alto chord tones.)
In our case, we have to rotate the mid row to the left 3 positions (1 + 2). We also have to rotate
the high row to the left 5 positions (2 + 2 + 1). (Rotating one position to the left is equivalent to
rotating five positions to the left. In computer-speak, you can always simplify the rotational
shift by modulo 4.)
If we apply these two left rotational shifts, we have:
high 4 3 4 1
mid 5 5 7 7
low 8 11 8 9
We convert the number of half steps shown into human-friendly names for the intervals:
high M3 m3 M3 m2
mid P4 P4 P5 P5
low m6 M7 m6 M6
and we have the interval content of the four systematic inversions for V-4 maj7. The row
labeled “high” is the alto to soprano interval. The row labeled “mid” is the tenor to alto
interval. The row labeled “low” is the bass to tenor interval. The columns are the four
systematic inversions.
To recap, we begin with three rows of the quality in half steps. We sum them to the right,
according to the chord tone gaps. Then we shift the upper two rows to the left, according to
the formulas for proper alignment.
Explaining the algorithm is not so hard. But figuring it out in the first place was very difficult.
At the same time, this kind of brain work is extremely fun. Who knew that the V-System held
such interesting mental challenges?
– James

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The Method 3 Computer Algorithm

0 single sums a b c d (from the quality) 1 4 3 4

If we apply these two left rotational shifts, we have:

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