BEN LEEDS CARSON

This part of the site is dedicated to a more elaborate treatment of the terms and inquiries that have been introduced in the overview: Ratio properties, structures of exposure, and orientations of experience.

However the bulk of the section will concentrate on properties, in an endeavor to elaborate and distinguish some basic rhythmic phenomena available in the perception of a single pair of timespans. Since the three larger inquiries are ultimately inextricable, I will need to limit the scope of this first discussion in terms of the other two. In our discussion of properties "azimuth," "complexity," and "gravity," everything will initially be simple, pertaining only to two timespans, but from time to time the notion of real musical perception will arise. In cases of ambiguity, we should assume that timespan ratios are

1. of the sort that would last between about 2 to 4 seconds in total
2. of the sort that would be heard non-cyclically, and infrequently, as (for example) a characteristic set of three events in a recognizeable melodic idea.
3. of the sort that would be heard in the midst of other rhythmic activity, that is, with the benefit of comparison and contrast to other timespan ratios occurring repetitively and metrically.

After preliminary discussion of azimuth, complexity, and gravity, with these circumstances in mind, I will attempt to complicate the possibilities. Meanwhile, our main concerns will be two discussions each of Azimuth and Complexity, and a discussion of how they combine in a metaphor of gravity: