BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
9840 / 18210 · Workshop 81 — Polychords and Bitonal Hearing: Two Harmonic Worlds at Once, Upper Structure vs. True Polychord, Controlled Clashes, and Making “Wrong” Chords Sound Intentional← prev⊞ allnext →

81.50Same notes, different conceptual emphasis

If you hear:

9-♯11-13 over C,

that's upper-structure thinking.

If you hear:

D-major melodic world over C-major foundation,

that's bitonal thinking.

Pitch content can be identical.

Mental organization changes the phrasing.