Another use of harmony to communicate an idea on a different compositional level in a composition can be found in the third scene of TRAPPIST-1, “Discovery”. As seen before[8], the musical events in this scene are organised depending on the number of days passed between important events, such as the detection of a specific planet for the first time or the detection of the triple transit. Harmonically, especially in the first half of the piece, the electronics trigger the notes associated with each planet at the time corresponding to their first detection.
However, in reality, the first detection does not mean that they know which planet they are detecting yet. For example, the first recorded transit of TRAPPIST-1g was mistaken for TRAPPIST-1d and announced as such[9]. This fact has a direct impact in the piece. In the electronics, we hear a version of the system with the chords generated by transforming distances into frequencies[10], associated with the system in its natural state. However, in the flute part, which represents an astrophysicist, the pitch material is different, associated in this case with how we transform reality into data in order to comprehend it. These notes correspond, then, to a different transformation of distances into musical parameters, in this case into music scales[11], engaging with the flute as a melodic instrument. I will use again the video presented in Example #7 in 2.1.1.1.4.2 Days between events as structure to illustrate this idea.
Example #2
In Scene 3, "Discovery", the harmonic material associated with the planetary system in its natural state (distances between the planets and the star transformed as frequencies forming a chord) is juxtaposed with the harmonic material associated with the astrophysicist (distances between the planets and the star transformed as distances between pitches in a music scale and its inversion). This symbolises how we transform a reality into an abstract construct (for example, data) that we can use to comprehend it or experience it. In this example, this happens with every planet in the following order (announced by the flautist): Planet C, Planet G, Planet E, Planet F, Planet B.