The Circle of 12 Notes

• Comment: All sources are by Ron Jarzombek - we need to see evidence that secondary sources covered this. ~ A412 ^talk! 21:16, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

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The Circle of 12 Notes is a system to write music using all 12 notes invented by Ron Jarzombek. He invented it during his time at Blotted Science. This system is not the 12-tone system by Schoenberg, which uses a matrix, with prime, inverted, retrograde, and retrograde inverted 12-tone rows under the rule that a note can't be played if all of the other notes have been played. This system will place all 12 notes on a 'circle' (just like the circle of fifths, which is also where Jarzombek took the inspiration for this system), but the order of the notes is chosen by the composer. Using simple patterns, the composer then creates groups of notes (groups of 3, 4, 6 and sometimes 8 notes) however, you should always use multiple groups to get a 12-note set, a set always has every note once, and usually consists of 2 groups of 6, 3 groups of 4 or 4 groups of 3. Sometimes the notes are played clockwise and counterclockwise (prime row and retrograde) The leads sometimes don't follow the rules, but use scales based on the note group. The key is the exact arrangement of notes.

File:Blotted Science-Synaptic Plasticity-12 note key.png

The key for Synaptic Plasticity

The example below comes from the song Synaptic Plasticity (the first song on The Machinations of Dementia):

The first 12-note set has these groups: B-E-F-F#, Ab-C-D-Eb, G-A-Bb-Db. These groups are made by taking every 3rd note on the 'clock'. The first group (B-E-F-F#) is a part of the B minor blues scale (B-D-E-F-F#-A). The second group (Ab-C-D-Eb) is a part of the Ab Lydian scale (Ab-Bb-C-D-Eb-F-G) with the D (#4) giving a typical lydian sound. The third group (G-A-Bb-Db) is a Gdimadd9.

The second 12-note set has these groups: C-C#-Eb-E-F#-G, G#-A-Bb-B-D-F. It's made by taking pairs of 3 across the other side (3s across). The first group (C-C#-Eb-E-F#-G) is a combination of Cdim (C-Eb-Gb) and C#dim (C#-E-G), forming most of the C half-whole tone scale (excluding A and Bb). The second group (G#-A-Bb-B-D-F) is a G#dim7 (G#-B-D-F, same notes as a Bdim7, Ddim7 and Fdim7) with 2 chromatics between G# and B (A and Bb).

The application on "The Machinations Of Dementia"

On the album The Machinations Of Dementia (the first album of Blotted Science), Ron Jarzombek uses the system on 11/16 songs (the songs Brain Fingerprinting, Activation Synthesis Theory, Night Terror, Narcolepsy and Amnesia don't use it, and R.E.M. uses the system in a different way). He uses a combination of notes next to each other, and other symmetrical patterns (every other, every 3rd, every 4th, pairs across, 3s across and 3 every other). On the song R.E.M., when a note is played, the next note is either the same one, or one of the 2 notes next to it.

The application on "The Animation Of Entomology"

On the album The Animation Of Entomology (the second album of Blotted Science), Ron Jarzombek doesn't use the symmetrical patterns and only relies on groups made up of notes next to each other. On Ingesting Blattaria and Vermicular Asphyxiation (respectively songs 1 and 3), a group of 8 notes is used (which forms the A half-whole tone scale). On A Sting Operation, the third part (called Seeing Dead People) has a system derived from this one. It places 6 of the notes in an 'inner circle' (the other ones in the outer circles), then creates groups by making taking 2 notes on the opposite side of the outer circle, and the 2 notes on the inner circle in between them. The notes on the inner circle are also rotated twice.

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