Diaphony is a piece that depicts binary relationships in sound. At particular instances in Diaphony certain musical parameters are paired with a musical partner. This partner can be complimentary in nature and amplify the original idea, or can be something completely opposite and contradictory. The tension or release created by these relationships sets up a drama that unfolds over the course of the piece. I came up with the title Diaphony to describe this action while contemplating a lesson on monophony and polyphony I was about to give in the basic music appreciation class I was teaching during the fall of 2005. Several months after completing the piece, I was quite surprised to find out that Diaphony is also a term Medieval theorists used to describe dissonant counterpoint.
