A Visualization of the Classical Musical Tradition

TL;DR

This paper analyzes 13,000 Western classical compositions across 33 composers, introducing a 2D chromatic diagram to visualize key signature usage, style, period, and individual composer development.

Contribution

It presents a novel 2D visualization method for musical key signatures, aiding in style and period differentiation and tracking composer careers.

Findings

The diagram effectively distinguishes musical styles and periods.

It reveals career development patterns of individual composers.

The approach enhances understanding of compositional evolution.

Abstract

A study of around 13,000 musical compositions from the Western classical tradition is carried out, spanning 33 major composers from the Baroque to the Romantic, with a focus on the usage of major/minor key signatures. A 2-dimensional chromatic diagram is proposed to succinctly visualize the data. The diagram is found to be useful not only in distinguishing style and period, but also in tracking the career development of a particular composer.