Motive, Collection, and Voice Leading in John Coltrane's “Giant Steps”

Abstract

ABSTRACT Coltrane's “Giant Steps” is a tightly-woven, theoretically-dense composition containing zero-sum characteristics, hexatonic and nonatonic properties, and various types of patterns on both the surface and deeper levels of the piece. However, the theoretical neatness of “Giant Steps” is offset by several irregularities, creating a cohesive and nuanced whole. This article examines “Giant Steps” from several different analytical perspectives, and considers mathematically the question of whether certain nonatonic aspects of the piece could have occurred by chance or whether they were necessarily part of Coltrane's compositional design.