Topmusicanswers
A set class is a group of pitch class sets related by transposition or inversion. Set classes are named by their prime form . Prime form is the version of the set that is transposed to zero and is most compact to the left (compared with its inversion.) You can find prime form mathematically or by using the clock face.
What are sets in music?
A set (pitch set, pitch-class set, set class, set form, set genus, pitch collection) in music theory, as in mathematics and general parlance, is a collection of objects.
Who invented musical set theory?
Howard Hanson first elaborated many of the concepts for analyzing tonal music. Other theorists, such as Allen Forte, further developed the theory for analyzing atonal music, drawing on the twelve-tone theory of Milton Babbitt.
