An Illustrated Explanation of Hexany, A Six Note Mathematically Derived Scale Shown as a 3D Cube

Doodling music theorist and musician 12tone quite capably explained the rather confusing topic of Hexany, a geometric music theory that represents a six note mathematically derived scale as a three dimensional octahedron from which unique tonalities as well as consonant dyads and triads can be created, depending on where the notes physically intersect with each other.

Many people have tried exploring that space, and one particularly interesting approach comes from a theorist named Ervin Wilson: The Hexany. In effect, it’s a cube (or octahedron, if you want to get fancy) where notes are plotted on a 3-dimensional shape, creating new layers of interaction and unique tonalities not found in normal systems, which sounds intimidating, but along with its other strengths, it’s actually pretty intuitive too!