[seqfan] Re: Need suggestions for test for compatible sequences for "voice leading"

[Ron Hardin]

I remember my father, who was both music and mathematics-interested, saying that some guy had written up the rules that a good melody has to follow. It probably would have been written in the 30s, I'd guess.
It's certainly wrong but the guy thought enough about it to write it out.  If it's a book, maybe it can be googled somehow. rhhardin at mindspring.com rhhardin at att.net (either)
 
      From: Allan Wechsler <acwacw at gmail.com>
 To: Sequence Fanatics Discussion list <seqfan at list.seqfan.eu> 
 Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2015 3:56 PM
 Subject: [seqfan] Re: Need suggestions for test for compatible sequences for "voice leading"
   
The executive summary of classical voice-leading rules is that they are not
well defined. To answer in more detail, one would have to read Fux's *Gradus
ad Parnassum* very carefully, concentrating on his "first species" (note
against note). In particular, there are rules that apply to just one voice,
that is, rules of what makes a well-formed melody, which many perfectly
comfortable melodies violate, and almost certainly most of our sequences
(interpreted as half-step numbers?) also violate these well-formedness
constraints.

Fux was no mathematician, and his lack of rigor will almost certainly have
you tearing your hair out.